Would you like to enlighten me with your factual knowledge and data?
For two I never said Mackinnon can't develop into a better player. What I'm saying is that a strong start doesn't mean Mackinnon 2.0 has arrived. Can you disprove that statement?
Thanks
I overreacted, because I hate it when people put ambiguous caps on players’ potentials. There is no data that points either way.
You are also fair in your second statement. I simply disagree with the opinions you provided as to why you believe his production will slip (i.e. Colorado feeling a need to take Landeskog away from MacK, when he’s having a resurgence alongside him), and think that a 20 game sample size is more than enough to justify a player’s progression. What more would you have? Half a season? An entire season? Half a decade?
Having watched the Avs play at least a half dozen times so far this year, in which I have seen MacKinnon consistently generate numerous high-danger scoring chances, I believe that he will continue his pace now that he has a good team around him and become a premier 1C - top-10 in the league is nowhere close to being out of reach with his talent, size, speed, and IQ. If you disagree, that’s all fine.
The only thing that you are wholly incorrect in is your statement that he is worse defensively than most 1Cs. This is an entirely false statement; MacKinnon is in my eyes one of the hardest backcheckers in the league, has a good stick, is totally unafraid to take the body or sacrifice to block a shot, and is consistently excellent in his positioning. There’s a reason why he plays on the penalty kill - something that few other 1Cs do.